When a large animal, such as a deer, is shot and killed by a hunter in the wild, the hunter is then left with the job of skinning and carrying home the animal. It is desirable to skin the animal in a way which does no damage to the head and antlers of the animal in that a hunter often desires to mount this portion of the animal. Also, it is desirable for the hunter to place the body of the animal in a bag after the skin of the animal has been removed so that dirt and other contaminants associated with the animal's fur are effectively separated away from the portion of the animal which is useful as meat.
It is well known in the art that through the judicious placing of incisions through the skin of the large game animal, the skin of the animal can be relatively easily removed by merely peeling the skin of the animal off of the carcass. Various patents have been awarded for devices which more easily facilitate this skinning process.
However, all of these devices are designed for use in a substantially similar way. That is, first the animal is suspended from a tree limb so that the animal is elevated above the ground. Then a cable is attached to the skin of the animal behind the neck. Upon applying tension to the cable, as with a vehicle, the skin is peeled away from the animal. At the outset of the peeling process the animal is hanging substantially vertically and the point of cable connection is high on the animal with an opposite end of the cable a considerable distance away attached to a vehicle. Thus, the peeling force is substantially perpendicular to a dorsal surface of the animal. As the peeling occurs, the point of cable connection moves down the animal causing the animal to pivot toward the vehicle. When the peeling is nearly complete, the peeling force is substantially parallel to the animal.
The animal is suspended from a tree so that once the skin is removed, the animal will not be contaminated by dirt or other debris lying on the ground. While this provides a clean and relatively simple method for skinning a large game animal, it is not always possible to string the large game animal up into a tree. In some outdoor environments, no trees are readily available having the characteristics desired for elevating the large game animal above the ground. In other circumstances, the animal which has been killed is so large that the hunter is unable to suspend the animal in a tree. In these circumstances the prior art devices are not capable of effectively performing the skinning function desired.
Furthermore, the prior art method utilizes a peeling force angle which migrates slowly from being perpendicular to the dorsal surface to being parallel to the dorsal surface. While perpendicular forces are useful to initiate the peeling process, horizontal peeling forces are preferable in that they diminish the possibility that the skin will tear.
The applicant's invention addresses these problems by providing a skinning and protection device which is useable in a horizontal position at ground level. The applicant's method results both in substantial time savings and also makes the skinning process possible in environments and with game which the other prior art devices and methods are incapable of so doing. In additional to time savings, the applicant's horizontal skinning method eliminates the possibility that the animal may fall from its suspended position in a tree and possibly damage its head and antlers. Also, the applicant's method and apparatus provide a peeling force which is initially perpendicular to the dorsal surface but quickly pivots to provide a parallel peeling force.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
______________________________________ INVENTOR U.S. PAT. NO. ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ Bintliff 1,290,056 January 7, 1919 DeMoss 2,494,138 January 10, 1950 Scherba 2,497,325 February 14, 1950 Weiss, et al. 2,518,651 August 15, 1950 Jones, et al. 3,209,395 October 5, 1965 Anderson 3,674,188 July 4, 1972 Hockley, et al. 3,763,907 October 9, 1973 Carrington, et al. 3,871,084 March 18, 1975 Ochylski 4,011,630 March 15, 1977 Slater 4,296,788 October 27, 1981 Boggs 4,301,920 November 24, 1981 Engel 4,317,257 March 2, 1982 Engel 4,529,240 July 16, 1985 ______________________________________
The patent to Carrington is of interest in that it teaches a deer skinning apparatus and method which uses a cable attached to the skin of the animal which pulls the skin of the animal off of the animal as does the device described by this application. However, the applicant's invention is distinguishable from Carrington's device in that Carrington requires suspension of the animal from a support such as a tree limb high enough above the ground to elevate the animal above the ground.
The patent to Engel ('257) teaches the use of an animal carrying and skinning device which utilizes a similar skinning method to that disclosed by Carrington. The applicant's method and device are distinguishable from Engel in that the animal is not suspended from the limb of a tree, but rather may be connected to any stationary object. Also, means are provided in the applicant's invention to ensure that damage to the animal, antlers and tearing of the skin is avoided.
The remainder of this prior art cited but not specifically distinguished from the applicant's invention share only limited similarities to the requirements of the applicant's invention and diverge even more starkly from the applicant's invention than do those patents specifically distinguished. Accordingly, applicant's invention exhibits a skinning method and device which is new, useful and not made obvious by the known prior art.